Gideon's thoughts remained on Mabel for the next few days. Whenever he wasn't focused on escape plans, he wondered about Mabel. What she was doing, how she was feeling, if. . . well, if she ever thought about him.

He got more and more excited at the prospect of seeing her, too. He tried to stamp out those feelings — there wasn't much chance this would even work, so he shouldn't get his hopes up. But he couldn't. He wanted to see Mabel, and he had to tell the Pines his secret, and he found himself lost in petty fantasies where the Pines took him in and kept him safe from Gaston. Gideon watched and waited for his opportunity to run.

Finally, that opportunity came.

It was a little over a week since he'd rescued Mabel from Pacifica. He had just finished breakfast with his mother — which was highly unusual, but she'd sensed something was wrong with him and reached out in the best way she knew how. It really just made it all worse, since he couldn't confide in her, but he tried to appreciate the gesture. He wondered how much control Gaston had over his wife, if a meal together was the most interaction she could have with her son.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. On his way from the dining room, Gideon was stopped by Gaston. Not a servant delivering a message, but Gaston himself. "You're needed," he said, which was a brief way to say that there was someone at the Order in need of mind-wiping.

"All right," Gideon replied. He turned and started walking down the hall, taking the turn that led to the secret entrance to the Order headquarters.

Gaston followed him.

Gideon kept expecting — kept hoping for — him to turn away, to simply have a similar route as he. But he didn't. He followed him all the way to the staircase beneath the tapestry entrance.

Gideon swallowed down panic and asked, with as much humility as he could manage, "Are you coming with me?"

"Yes," Gaston said shortly. "I am your escort today." And he reached into his pocket to pull out the amulet.

Gideon flinched. For a moment there, he'd thought his father was extracting the whistle. Gaston saw the gesture and nodded curtly. Good, that nod said. I am in control here.

The two Northwests walked silently through the corridor that connected the Order headquarters to the Northwest Manor. Gaston didn't hand Gideon his amulet, not until they were right outside the door to the memory chamber. Gideon fastened it to his lapel, wishing he could use it to blast everyone out of the way and run away right then and there. But that wasn't an option, not this deep into the Order of the Crescent Eye — not with his father standing right beside him.

Gideon entered the room to see Candy Chiu. He groaned inwardly. Her, again? She was brought down here, what, every week? Her mother, Yingtai Chiu, was an Order member — and one of the more paranoid ones, atthat. Any mention of the supernatural from her daughter, and Candy was hauled down here for a wipe.

"Gideon?" she said in the exact same tone of shock that she had every time she saw him down here. "What is this? Are you here to beat me up or something?"

"No," Gideon said shortly. His amulet glowed dimly as he searched her thoughts. She apparently had seen a hamadryad appear out of its tree. What had she been doing out there? Hamadryads were only found fairly deep in the forest. He dug a little deeper. Turned out she was looking for Dipper. She thought maybe he'd been kidnapped by the magical creatures she kept hearing rumors about.

The more he explored, the more he found. She'd been out there for a long time and seen a lot. Well, Yingtai, for once you're not being paranoid.

Candy gave him a strange look. "Um, Gideon? Why are you staring at me?"

Gideon gathered up all the memories of her excursion and wiped them clean with his amulet. Now she would only remember going in, searching for a long time, and coming back out. None of the supernatural details. He finished up by wiping her memory of coming down here, like he always did, and she slumped over in her chair. That was one benefit of mental meddling via amulet — unconsciousness. Very convenient.

Gaston gave a nod from the doorway. "Good. Let's go."

Yingtai entered the room and crossed to her daughter, undoing the straps that bound her wrists to the chair and scooping her into her arms. "Thank you," she said to Gideon. He nodded in return. It was an emotionless gesture, but in his mind, he was condemning Yingtai for putting her daughter through all this just to keep her 'safe' from the supernatural. From what Gideon had seen — had experienced — Candy could easily take care of herself.

On the way out of the room, Gaston held out a hand for the amulet. Gideon's heart sank. He wasn't going to get to use it for anything, not with his abuser right there watching him, but. . . having it made him feel a little bit more free.

He reluctantly took off the amulet and handed it to his father.

The two of them headed back to their mansion. The oppressive walls of the Order bore down on Gideon, making it hard to breathe. It was so empty and forlorn down here, especially without Lincoln. Gideon had never known how much the leader of the Order added to the atmosphere until he was gone.

Lincoln. . .

Thinking about Lincoln reminded Gideon of his secret. Reminded Gideon of his mission to tell the Pines that secret. Reminded Gideon that he had to get out of here.

"Listen to me! We have to warn them!"

Gideon stopped. What was that? Had he imagined it? Of course he had to warn them, but. . . who was we?

"Warn them? And tell the entire town about the supernatural?"

That was Pacifica's voice. It, along with the other one, was floating out from a nearby room. Gaston had also stopped in place, and he shared a glance with Gideon. They both started moving simultaneously to the door.

A frustrated noise burst from the room. "Yes, if it means saving their lives! Don't you get it? The Pines can't be stopped, and even if they can, we have to be safe. You can have that Northwest kid wipe all their memories afterwards, I don't care, but we can't just keep this information to ourselves."

Gaston opened the door. Gideon stepped into the room and got his first view of the speaker: one of the locals, an older teenager with black hair. That's right. . . this guy was immune to Gideon's amulet. Which meant he was probably on the Cipher Wheel. Gideon couldn't remember his name, though.

"Keeping information to ourselves is what we do best." Pacifica Pleasure sat on a chair in the center of the room. Her posture made it look like she was on a throne, though it was just a simple folding chair. A handful of Order members stood around her, with two more standing near the black-haired boy.

The boy looked like he wanted to scream. Gideon wasn't surprised — this was Pacifica he was dealing with, after all. "Yeah, but I thought you guys did all that to keep people safe! Not telling them about this will put them in danger!"

Pacifica smiled serenely. "We'll stop the Pines before the anomalies start."

"Oh yeah?" the boy demanded. "And what if you don't? Gravity is going to go crazy in a couple days, maybe even today, and if you guys can't stop it, people could get seriously hurt! They deserve to know enough to protect themselves!"

One of the Order members that stood next to him put a hand on his arm. "Patience, Robbie," she murmured, glancing at Pacifica.

Pacifica caught the look. "Well? And what do you think, Mr. and Mrs. Corduroy?"

Gideon remembered now. The boy was Robbie Corduroy, and the people standing next to him were his parents. They'd brought him in for a memory wiping, only to find out that Gideon's amulet didn't work on their son. Didn't Robbie work at the Mystery Museum, too? Had he talked to the Pines recently?

Mrs. Corduroy took a deep breath. "We agree with Robbie, Miss Pleasure," she said. "What if we can't stop the Pines? I don't think we should give up, but we have to keep the people safe in case we fail. We've created pamphlets, and we're going to go hand them out around town. People will probably think we're crazy, but we at least have to try. All we're asking is that you don't wipe people's memories until this whole catastrophe is over."

As his mother spoke, Robbie noticed Gideon and caught his eye. Gideon gazed steadily back. He was all for this plan. But that didn't mean he'd get to follow it — he wasn't the one in control of the mind-wiping.

Pacifica noticed Gideon and Gaston as well. "Oh, good, the Northwests are here. Perfect timing. I assume you've heard the proposition? Thoughts?"

Gideon wanted to speak up, but he didn't dare speak before his father did. Gaston cleared his throat. "I see no problem with Gideon wiping everyone after the fact, except perhaps how long it would take. This precaution, however, does make me worry that we would no longer try to stop the Pines."

What 'we'? Gideon wanted to ask. It's not like you're doing anything to help stop them, Father. But he kept his mouth shut.

Pacifica's smile froze on her face. "Of course we're still trying to stop the Pines. Lord Cipher happens to know that they're going on an expedition to the fallen UFO tomorrow, and I fully intend to send our members after them. Would you, perhaps, like to be a part of that, Mr. Northwest?" she finished, a barb in her tone.

Gideon grinned inwardly. Thank you, Pacifica, my father would never lash out against a leader of the Order. Seeing Gaston being put in his place was a rare — but delightful — treat.

Gaston gave a little cough. "Perhaps if I helped the Corduroys spread the word instead? People will listen to someone with local authority." The disdainful glance he gave to the Corduroys made it clear his thoughts on their local authority. "It would be quite generous of me to put my reputation on the line like so," he added.

Gideon agreed with that statement, which was why he was surprised his father was offering at all. Maybe he felt he had to do something, even if it wasn't fighting with the Pines directly.

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. She didn't say anything for a minute, but all her judgment of the elder Northwest was clear on her face.

"All right," she finally said. "We'll do it. Northwests and Corduroys, you're in charge of spreading the word. The rest of us will focus on stopping the Pines. Regardless of the results of the next few days — though we will stop the Pines — Gideon will have a lot of mind-wiping ahead of him." For the first time since he'd entered the room, she glanced at Gideon, giving her friend a little smile.

Robbie gave a sigh of relief. His father punched him playfully in the arm. "Thank you, Miss Pleasure," Mrs. Corduroy said.

The Corduroys wanted to go out immediately, so Gaston agreed to leave with them. As they left, he gestured with Gideon to come with him.

Gideon's heart skipped a beat. Was this it? Was this his chance?

The five of them left the Order headquarters through the entrance beneath the town library. The adults spoke together to make plans, but Gideon and Robbie were silent. They had nothing to say to each other. Sometimes, Gideon would glance over to seeing Robbie glaring at him, just for the older teen to look away hurriedly. He still hadn't forgiven Gideon for attempting to wipe his memory, apparently. It's not my fault, Robbie! Gideon wanted to scream. Do you think I want to do this?

But he didn't say any of that. He couldn't say any of that. He couldn't say most of the things that ran through his mind.

When he exited the Order headquarters, Gideon breathed a welcome sigh of relief. Finally! He was finally out of the Northwest grounds! He'd never been impressed with this tiny town, but right now, he just felt happy to be in it.

His eyes travelled the direction of the Mystery Museum. There it was. He was so close. Could he just make a break for it? Gaston had his amulet, so there was little chance of getting that back. He'd have to make do without it. He would wait until they were close to the Museum. Then he'd run. He'd go and pound on the door and shout for the Pines until they opened it, and he'd tell them. He'd tell them what they needed to know.

The Corduroys had their posters and their pamphlets with them, so the party split up. Mr. Corduroy and Robbie went to hang up posters, while Mrs. Corduroy, Gaston, and Gideon would go spread the word and hand out pamphlets.

Gaston was right that people would listen to him. When he walked into the town square, everyone stopped to look. There weren't too many people out and about, not in the middle of winter in Oregon, but there were enough that they could also spread the word.

If they believed them.

As Gaston explained the gravitational anomalies, which the Corduroys had explained to him just moments earlier, Gideon kept glancing toward the Mystery Museum. He tried not to — control yourself, Northwest — but he couldn't help it. The town square was even further away from the Museum than the library was. But Gaston had been paying attention to Gideon then, and now he was focused on warning people about the anomalies. He was facing away from the Museum, too. If Gideon ran now, his father may not notice in time to stop him.

He wished he had his amulet to aid him, but he couldn't focus on that. He leaned over to Mrs. Corduroy. "I have an errand. Don't mention that I'm gone."

She looked confused, but in the Order, one was trained not to question their betters. Gideon may be forced to wipe memories, but he was still considered one of those "betters." She didn't question it.

Gideon walked away from the town square.

He wanted to break into a run, but he forced himself to walk at a normal pace. Until Gaston realized what he was doing, he had to act natural.

. . . Was he really doing this?

Gaston was standing right there. If Gideon succeeded, he'd get beaten. If he failed, he'd get beaten. All his doubts from the last week came rushing back. He couldn't do this. He shouldn't be doing this. Why was he doing this?

He kept walking.

He was just passing the library when the cry went up. "Gideon!" his father shouted, outraged. Though Gideon acted autonomous in his conversation with Mrs. Corduroy, both he and his father knew that he was not supposed to leave Gaston's side.

Gideon broke into a run.

"Gideon Charles Northwest, you come back here right now! Someone catch him!"

Well, the townspeople weren't going to deny a direct order from Gaston Northwest. They ran for him, even the ones out on the street that hadn't heard Gaston's speech. But they were slow, and Gideon was confident he could beat them to the Museum.

Then two Northwest servants came out of Lazy Susan's diner.

Gideon's heart sank as they recognized him. Their eyes widened, and they quickly ran after him, stuffing their wallets in their back pockets. What were they doing out here?! Gideon had never imagined that his servants — Gaston's servants, really — had lives outside of the Northwest Manor. But here were these two, on a leisurely break to go get some food. They weren't even in their servant uniforms.

That didn't stop them from chasing Gideon.

Gideon doubled his pace, his thighs burning. Almost — there — he could — make it—

The sound of the whistle pierced the air.

Gaston had never blown it in the town of Gravity Rises. But he did now, and it carried across the snow-strewn street just fine, despite the Northwests having a fair distance between them.

Gideon cried out. No! He had beaten the whistle once before — he could do it again! He tried to will himself to keep going.

But Mabel wasn't in imminent danger the way she had been last time. She wasn't even there. He could imagine her face all he wanted, but without her actual presence, he was a slave to the whistle.

He fell to the snow. All his fear crashed down on top of him. He'd known this was a bad idea — he had to get to the Pines — he'd known he would be caught and punished — the Pines had to know—

The Northwest servants caught up to him. They hauled him to his feet. Gideon had no energy to resist. The high emotion, crammed into less than a minute, had coursed through him and left him burned out. He slumped against the servants' arms, head hanging limp.

A rough hand forced his chin upward. Gideon stared into Gaston's enraged eyes.

"Where were you going?" he asked quietly.

Gideon quailed in fear — that quiet tone was far worse than shouting in anger. From that tone, he knew he was in for it.

Gaston leaned in closer. He wouldn't actually hit Gideon, not out in public — right? "Were you going to the Mystery Museum?"

Gideon didn't answer.

Gaston nodded to one of the servants, and Gideon suddenly found the air knocked out of his lungs. He looked around desperately for some townsperson to see the violence, but no one was near enough to notice the blow. It had been discreet.

"Answer me when I speak to you, Gideon."

Gideon tried to look away, but Gaston's hand kept his head up, making it impossible. Gaston would see through a lie in an instant, but telling the truth might be even worse. Gideon had to decide quickly, though — and he decided on the truth. "Yes."

"Going to see that girl's pretty face again?" Gaston's quiet tone gained an edge of mockery. "Not grateful for the luxury we give you, so you decided you'd rather be in that hovel?"

"No, sir," Gideon whispered, which was the right answer whether or not it was true. He was just glad Gaston hadn't figured out the real reason he was going. If he could endure this punishment, then try again. . .

Then he'd just be caught again.

It was hopeless.

Gaston nodded in satisfaction, letting go of Gideon's chin. "I apologize to interrupt your break time," he said to the Northwest servants. "I'm afraid this cretin needs escorting, however. Return with me to the Northwest Manor, and then you may go back on break."

The servants agreed, and the group started walking. Gideon didn't have the energy to walk, but being dragged was worse, so he forced his feet to plod forward and hold his weight. He had to keep up appearances. He had to hold his head high.

But he'd already shattered appearances, and he couldn't find the motivation to try repairing them.

They stopped for Gaston to explain the situation to the Corduroys — making Gideon out to be the bad guy, of course, and avoiding all mention of the abuse. Robbie and his father had met up with Mrs. Corduroy, drawn by the commotion. When Robbie saw Gideon, his eyes widened, and he stared at the younger boy in pity.

It just made everything worse.

Gaston told the Corduroys he would return, and the servants turned Gideon toward the Northwest Manor. Gideon glanced to his left, toward the Mystery Museum, but he couldn't see it. There were too many trees in the way.

He walked away from the town, burning both in humiliation at Robbie's pity and shame at his futile attempt. The Pines needed to know his secret, and he'd failed. He'd failed.

He hadn't even gotten to see Mabel's face again.

As he walked, the servants supporting him more than he was supporting himself, Gideon wanted nothing more than to weep.

But he couldn't cry. Not around Gaston. At this point, he didn't even care if his father saw him cry — but he still couldn't. Even when he tried, the tears wouldn't come. He had so much practice hiding his feelings that, now that he wished he could show them, he was physically unable.

The servants marched Gideon back to his prison, Gaston walking in front of them.

And from this angle, Gideon had full view of the man who had broken his son.